Thief! Thief!

Man: Thief! Thief!

Responding to a damming new survey released this week showing that state corruption has worsened significantly under President Yudhoyono's watch, with 91% of Indonesians now saying corruption is widespread throughout the government, Yudhoyono has called for an all-out war against what he termed "state robbers".

Kompas - October 29, 2011

Bird of Paradise

Bars on cage with Bird of Paradise read: Injustice, corruption, poverty, violence, vested interests.

Calls for independence have intensified in West Papua since police and military forcefully dispersed the Third Papuan People's Congress in Jayapura on October 19 killing three and arresting hundreds more in what has been described as an unnecessary display of brutality and violence against a legitimate gathering of peaceful protesters.

Kompas - October 26, 2011

This isn't RBT

Man: This isn't RBT. Rencana Bangun Tidur!

Kid reading book titled Indonesian Acronyms: RBT: Ring Back Tone: Something that happens suddenly upon waking up.

In announcing his new cabinet lineup Tuesday – widely seen as designed to shore up internal political support rather than address real shortcomings in the cabinet's performance – President Yudhoyono insisted the changes were 'well planned, systematic and accountable', not 'RBT' or 'something he just came up with when he woke up one morning'.

Kompas - October 22, 2011

The motor's been enlarged

Man: The "motor" has been enlarged so it runs faster, yeah?

President Yudhoyono's much touted cabinet reshuffle ended up being little more than a power play with ministers widely criticised by the public or implicated in corruption scandals maintained or swapped around, the replacement three ministers with close aides and the addition of 19 "deputy ministers", also Yudhoyono loyalists, which critics say will make the new cabinet lineup even more cumbersome and unworkable than the previous one.

Kompas - October 19, 2011

SEA Games

♦ 1 year ago: How's the preparations for the SEA Games going? Everything's in order Sir...
♦ 5 months ago: How's it going with the Games? Safe n' sound sir...
♦ 1 month ago: How about the SEA Games? Everything's cool sir...
♦ Today: WHAT'S THE HELL'S GOING WITH THE SEA GAMES? Ahh, gimme a moment sir...

With just one month until the Southeast Asian Games open and organisers still struggling to finish on time, Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng (pictured on phone) – who pledged that all the venues would be ready by August – shrugged off criticisms over bureaucratic delays and expressed confidence in the preparations.

Kompas - October 12, 2011

The Titanic

As President Yudhoyono (holding woman with 'political parties' written on dress) begins short-listing the names of new ministers for his first cabinet reshuffle during his second term in office, political analysts warn that it is critical for the president to resist the political pressure or horse-trading that characterised his first cabinet lineup and appoint professionals with expertise and experience instead of party-affiliated figures.

Kompas - October 8, 2011

What you'd call a kindergarten

Man: As I once said: they're what you'd call a kindergarten, some like to be bribed, some like to quarrel, others like to get angry!

In the mist of a dispute between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the House of Representatives' budget committee (Banggar) over lawmakers' refusal to cooperate with an investigation into alleged budget irregularities, the results of a survey on Sunday showing that only 23% of respondents still trusted politicians was not really news at all.

Kompas - October 1, 2011